Traditional 2 G and 2.5 G cellular infrastructure using standard licensed cellular protocol handsets (“Standard Mobile Stations” or “MS”) requires use of a base transceiver station (BTS) and a base station controller (BSC) also using that cellular protocol. The Standard Mobile Stations communicate with the cellular infrastructure over a cellular air interface such as Um (for GSM and CDMA2000) or Uu (for UMTS). The traditional 2 G and 2.5 G cellular infrastructures are relatively costly to deploy due to particulars of the technology and because of the relatively few number of subscribers which can be supported in a given cellular infrastructure deployment.
A Generic Access Network (GAN) is generally less expensive and easier to deploy when compared to traditional 2 G and 2.5 G cellular infrastructures. Using a GAN however, a dual mode handset is generally required in order to communicate with the cellular infrastructure through an Access Point (AP) and a Generic Access Network Controller (GANC), using an Up interface. The requirement of a dual mode phone forces subscribers to obtain new cellular phones, which include the additional expense and complexity of a dual mode transceiver. It would be desirable to enable the benefits of a GAN to be realized in a cellular infrastructure such that only the use of a Standard Mobile Station is required.